Vietcong

No wonder we lost the war... it's hard to aim at 15 frames per second.

Vietcong follows a US Special Forces group out of Nui Pek, a base just a few miles outside of the Cambodian border where a group of Special Forces were camped for incursions into enemy territory to deal with the North Vietnamese Army and the feared Viet Cong, a guerrilla force with an uncanny knack for killing the hell out of their enemies. You play the part of Sergeant First Class Steve Hawkins that has just been assigned to the unit at Nui Pek. As you might imagine, the group is filled with all different personalities, that don't always mix well, but they always get the job done. It's good to be the best. Aside from some small conversation and jibes back and forth, there's not much character development to be had, but that's probably because there's not much story to be had. The story is really just Hawkins and his missions.

The missions begin with a briefing cutscene that takes place in the Nui Pek camp. You and your team will be given mission parameters before marching off into the forest, or wherever else the game takes you. You get your orders from a Fire Marshall Bill looking character with no upper lip and a lop-sided nose that allows him to consume huge quantities of cocaine through one of his nostrils. The voice work here is done decently, although it sounds like the actors were trying a little too hard at times, especially the main character and machine gunner.

Once you're done with the short briefing, you'll have the opportunity to pick out what weapon you would prefer to use and grab ammo for it. You'll start out with slim pickings and work your way up to better weapons as you move through the game. These weapons also become available in the quick fight as you progress, giving you some of that "unlocking" fun we usually miss out on compared to console titles. These weapons can all be tested on the firing range as well, in case you're not sure what kind of effects they have. During this time, you can also extend your fictional enjoyment by reading Hawkins' journal about the missions and team bios as well as your historical enjoyment through some slim readings about the area, the VC and some of the tactics used in Vietnam. While I appreciated the effort, I really didn't give a crap. They weren't exactly exciting reads, although some of the field guide helped out a little bit in game.

Once you're done fiddling around in the bunker, it's time to head out into one of the varied missions. When I say varied I mean it in a couple of ways. First, the mission structures themselves are pretty different. There's everything from search and destroy missions to base defense missions, to recon missions. There's a lot to be had here. Unfortunately, it also varies in terms of quality. There are some exciting points in this game where you'll start to smile, and then you'll be hit with frustration and boredom all of the sudden.

For example, who the hell thought it would be a good idea to stick a gamer in miles of bland underground tunnels. It took me an hour and a freakin' half to get out of the stupid things. Upon reaching the surface Hawkins says, "Thank Christ!" and I echoed his sentiments. Sure, the tunnels were great for a small portion, I know it was part of the war, but good lord... let me out of the damn things already, I'm getting claustrophobic. Sadly, you'll actually find yourself walking for good distances without seeing enemies more than a little bit in this game, even when you aren't in a tunnel. I suppose that was to create suspense, but there's timing involved in that, and they missed the mark on a few occasions.

But for all of that, there are some really fun portions of this game, mostly thanks to your squad members. I've always thought it was fun to work with other people on your team, like in Medal of Honor. Having some folks to play with you, even if that is AI is pretty fun. Seeing them spread out and dive for cover while shouting obscenities at the VC is fairly entertaining, although I swear I heard Bender from Futurama and Bill from King of the Hill in there. Anyway, they're mainly autonomous, which is nice, although occasionally they'll do something stupid, like jump in front of you while you're firing... which leads to mission failure. Most of the time they won't die on their own, thankfully, because when they do, it's usually compltetely out of your control, which can be a pain in the ass. There's nothing like playing a mission to perfection on your side only to have jack ass machine gunner get shot around the other side of the base.

But as I said, their AI mostly works very well. When an enemy is spotted, they all run for cover and start firing. You have some bit of control over the troops as well, which works most of the time, although every now and again, when you tell them to hold position so you can scout ahead a bit, they'll forget you told them to stay put once bullets go whizzing around. This can be a pain in the butt when you're trying to call in artillery fire to take out heavily fortified locations. One step too far and they're toast. The interface for giving commands is very simple since the commands you can give are simple as well. You can call any of your troops to you immediately in case you need ammo, medical attention, or use of the radio.

The most problems I had with the AI was actually in the pathfinding. You'll often find them in your way, or running into the side of a ditch trying vainly to jump their way out of it. Your pathfinder is also a bit roundabout in pathfinding some times. He'll go the wrong way and finally turn around to lead you in the right direction. But he's still useful as a scout since he'll always find the enemy and warn you before you're staring a fistful of VC pointing their guns at you.